The Sinister Solution
by BelleDayNight
Summary: X-23 returns from her year in hell and she's found half-dead by Gambit. He's on his way to Wolverine's school to serve as a teacher and brings her back. Julian is finally becoming comfortable in his own skin. Can he keep the fragile hold on his sanity and help Laura get past her recent trauma? What happens when Gambit learns about Rogue? Is Sinister the solution? HelliX, ROMY
1. Chapter 1

**The Sinister Solution**

**Time frame: **

Takes place after Avengers Arena, and will follow the timeline of Uncanny Avengers #14 (after that it changes), and the All New X-men arc with X-23 didn't happen. Includes the Gambit mini-series that was recently canceled and Wolverine and the Xmen references.

**Summary: **

After X-23 returns from her year in hell with her Avengers Academy classmates she's found half-dead by Gambit. He's on his way to Wolverine's school to serve as a teacher and brings her back with him. Julian is finally becoming comfortable in his own skin. Can he keep the fragile hold on his sanity and help Laura get past her recent trauma? What will Gambit do when he hears what happened to Rogue? Is Sinister the solution?

**Chapter One:**

* * *

_**X-23**_

Everything hurt. She'd come close to death before and while her healing factor kept the reality of death a distant longing she felt every wound. The past year on Murder World had been the worse and that was including her torture with Kimura and her chainsaw, the radiation Hellion saved her from, and her various adventures with X-Force.

This pain was not only physical, but emotional. The Facility tried hard to eliminate her emotions. They failed. Over the past year in the Avengers Arena she'd been incinerated, dismembered, irradiated, lacerated, eviscerated, and forced into berserker mode by a trigger scent. The physical pain was tolerable, but knowing she's been responsible for the deaths of so many of her classmates under Arcade's game was something she feared she'd never recover. She'd been back on earth for two days and whenever she tried to sleep all she could see were the faces of her dying classmates.

She took a deep breath grateful that most of the oxygen stayed in instead of whistling out from her perforated lungs. They had finally healed and her hair was mostly growing back. Her eyes had reformed. It had been very difficult crawling about without eyes, little skin, and wheezy lungs.

The sound of the metal manhole being slid across the entrance of the sewer drew her attention. That was another misfortunate happenstance. She had been forced to use her sensitive olfactory to guide her out of the sewers. The sound of a pair of heavy boots splashing in the water lightly approached. The step was barely audible. It was definitely someone who knew how to sneak. A thief perhaps? She couldn't pick up their scent amongst the garish smells of the sewer, but she could tell that they were alone.

She crawled to a recess in the wall, her claws popped out by habit from her knuckles.

A soft pink light broke through the pitch darkness. An ace of diamonds glowed brightly and a familiar face came into view. "Need a lift home, petite?" Gambit asked. The red of his dark eyes glowed brightly in the light of his card, his face was creased in an expression of worry. "Or maybe just a nice hot bath," he suggested with a teasing smile.

His scent was finally able to penetrate through the stench of the sewer. She remembered Gambit helping her in the past and he never asked her to kill anyone. "Gambit," Laura stated.

"Come on, petite. It's time you get out of here," Gambit said extending his gloved hand.

"I am not petite. I am one-hundred and seventy centimeters in height."

"It's just a figure of speech, Laura. I'm thinking we could both use a good soak to get this stink off. Maybe I fetch some tomato sauce for you. It works on skunk stink."

X-23's claws retracted and she grasped the offered hand. "I would like a bath very much."

Gambit led them out of the sewer and Laura was grateful that it was night and it was a new moon. Her eyes would have been in a painful shock with bright light. There was a motorcycle hidden behind some nearby bushes.

"This is not your motorcycle," she observed. She remembered Gambit's bike from their adventures after the schism.

"That bike you're thinking of is now in the realm of the fae and it's a long story that I don't want to talk about. This is Wolverine's bike. I liberated it from the institute's garage."

"How did you find me?" Laura asked. Silently, she wondered why Gambit found her and not Wolverine. Had her father figure discovered her crime in Arcade's Arena on Murder World? Was he disappointed in her?

"My stint with the British Secret Intelligence Network ended and I decided to come home. I'll be a teacher at Wolverine's academy. When I arrived Logan was away on some Avengers mission with Rogue."

"That is not the proper name of the institute. It is the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning," Laura corrected. Wolverine had been very specific in naming his academy. Jean Gray was the woman he loved most and wanted to honor with a hopeful environment for the mutant youth. Laura wasn't sure she would be welcome there as she was the epitome of a child soldier that her father-figure wished to prevent.

"Right, well, anyway, Rachel found you on Cerebro and Stormy sent me on this recovery mission," Gambit said sitting on the bike and starting the engine. "Though she'd have had trouble keeping me away from this mission," he said looking over his shoulder at her. "Get behind me."

Laura did as ordered. "I like Rachel," she said. "I would choose her for a teammate over other telepaths."

"But not over other telekinetics?" Gambit teased. "Hold tight, your healing factor is buzzing busily. We don't need you falling off and fixing some broken bones." He held out a helmet for her.

"The broken bones have already set and mended," Laura said. It had been especially uncomfortable crawling with her bones grinding together. "You need the helmet more than me."

"Good point, I was trying to be a gentleman, petite." Gambit shoved the helmet over his head.

Laura bit her tongue to keep from correcting Gambit on the folly of his nickname for her. She banded her arms around his torso and rested her cheek against the middle of his back between his shoulder blades. It was nice not to be alone and to be with a trusted ally. She would have preferred Wolverine, but then what girl wouldn't want her dad after what she'd been through?

"I'm taking us to a hotel. You're going to clean up and then I'm hiring room service and you're going to eat," Gambit said at a red light. "Then you're sleeping. We'll reach upstate New York tomorrow evening."

* * *

_**Hellion**_

Fall finals had been challenging. Since starting at Wolverine's school the year before Hellion had adjusted to his physical disability. He no longer felt sorry for himself. According to Dr. McCoy his powers had evolved substantially to cope with the loss of his hands. Prior to the accident he focused his telekinesis through his hands. Now he directed his power through his mind.

He had a pair of metallic prosthetic hands that he manipulated with his telekinesis. The main draw back was that while they were aesthetically pleasing, he couldn't feel any sense of touch from them. They were unnecessary but it helped his classmates be less creeped out by him. It was like they thought that if they spent too much time with him they might lose a body part. Fools.

He stirred in a handful of blueberries into his cream of wheat breakfast using his mind. His spoon sat unused at the side of his bowl. He glanced up to see Santo Vaccarro watching him. His friend Rockslide no longer ate, but he enjoyed spending time with his friends while they ate. It made him feel more human. Hellion thought it was pathetic. They should be proud of their mutant identity. He picked up his spoon with his prosthetic hand and ate slowly. He might as well give Santos a show. Once upon a time, Julian considered himself the Big Man on Campus. He was Mr. Popular before the whole decimation of the mutant population by the Scarlet Witch. Frankly, Santo and ironically Quentin Quire were his only friends at the school now-a-days.

Speak of the devil, mentally anyway, the pink haired telepath sat next to Julian with a tray stacked high with pancakes, eggs, and bacon. "So, Julian! Would you care to know why Ms. Monroe and Ms. Summers keep staring over at you?"

Julian looked up from his breakfast to see that Storm and Marvel Girl were indeed looking in his direction and talking quietly to themselves. "I imagine they are fascinated with my freakish hands," he said shoving his spoon into the food.

"Darn, Rachel just blocked me," Quentin whined. "However, I did learn something you might be interested in," he said stabbing his eggs with his fork.

"You know he won't ask. Just tell him already," Santo grumbled.

"They found X-23. Gambit went out to fetch her," Quentin explained. He tapped his temple. "You can thank me anytime now."

He hadn't heard from Laura in over a year. The last time he saw her had been bittersweet. Finally, they kissed! Then she broke up with him and enrolled in the Avengers Academy. He'd sauntered back to Wolverine's school like a dog with his tail between his legs. The only reason he'd decided to join Wolverine after the schism was because of her and she wasn't even here!

"Really? Is she okay?" Santo asked, knowing that Julian wouldn't inquire, but that he'd want to know.

"Not sure, but I'm thinking something bad happened. I mean, why else would the super assassin need assistance?" Quire asked.

Julian's appetite had vanished. What would happen when Laura returned? His feelings for her hadn't faded, if anything they'd grown during her absence. She wanted to live her own life and he tried to do the same, but part of him tried his best so that she would be proud of him. He wasn't the same man that was living in a pig-stye full of empty soda and beer cans and old pizza and Chinese takeout boxes back on Utopia. As a matter of fact, he recently won the award for cleanest dorm room when Drake did his evaluation last month. His parents were gone from his life. He had a few friends like Santo and Quire, but when it mattered it was Laura Kinney he wanted at his side. Regardless of personal strife he knew beyond any doubt that Laura had his back and he had hers. She was the best friend he ever had.

Quentin glanced over at him quickly, the telepath tried to not invade the private thoughts of his friends, but sometimes people would think too hard. Julian had a feeling his loud thoughts were picked up like a radio broadcast by his friend. When it came to X-23 Julian's thoughts were very loud.

"Want to go a few rounds in the Danger Room? We can invite Kid Gladiator," Julian suggested.

"Now you're talking, Hellion!" Santo said with a grin. "Hurry up, Quire. Maybe you can make that stuck up space princess cry!"

"Julian, may I have a word with you?" Rachel Summers asked as she approached their table.

Julian exchanged a quick look with Quire before he nodded.

"Don't worry, you'll be available for a Danger Room session with your buddies here," Rachel said with a smirk, her green eyes twinkled in amusement.

"You're not going to modify the Danger Room again are you, Ms. Summers?" Santos asked nervously.

"You know I can't let you boys become complacent," Rachel said. "Julian?"

Julian pushed his chair away from the table and stood, he followed Rachel out of earshot of his friends.

"I'm sure your little eavesdropping telepath friend has already told you, but Laura will be coming to this school. I don't know all the details on what happened, but I know it's not good. I was able to see glimpses when I found her on Cerebro. Whatever it was, it was bad. I know the two of you were close. I'd like to have you show her around campus."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. We didn't exactly part on a happy note," Julian argued. As a matter of fact Laura had made it clear that she wasn't much interested in him.

"What she said and what she feels may not be the same thing, Julian. Can I count on you? I thought about asking Cessily, but she might not be up for the task. I believe she and Laura were friends as well."

Cessily "Mercury" Kincaid was someone with even fewer friends than him at the school. It was her father's scheme that lead up to the schism amongst mutants. It would probably be good for her when Laura showed up.

"Who will be her roommate?" There weren't too many females that he thought would be a good match for Laura. They wouldn't understand her moods or they would be scared because of her past. Or they'd be jealous of her looks and talents. Mercury had been her friend as had Dust, but the latter wasn't at the school. No one really knew where she was. Maybe she was holed up somewhere with his parents since he didn't have a clue where they were either.

"I thought about that," Rachel said thoughtfully as she rubbed her chin. "It might be best to give her her own room, but I was thinking of moving Cessily to the room next to her. It's not like we don't have enough rooms to go around."

Hellion had his own room. So did Quentin Quire. Why shouldn't Laura have her own room? It would make it easier to visit with her without worrying about a pesky roommate.

"It's a good thing Logan doesn't have a telepathic mind like mine," Rachel said with a wink. "He does have a superior sense of smell, so you might not want to partake in any late night visits with the girl he considers his daughter."

He was really going to have to work on not broadcasting his thoughts. "Right, well, I'm available if you need me. I'm going to engage in some Danger Room time."

Rachel reached out and grabbed Julian's upper arm in a friendly grip. "You may find this hard to believe given Logan's short temper with you, but you're well liked, Julian. And I trust you as does Storm and Iceman. Emma Frost wasn't the only one that was confident in your abilities or your character. You are a born leader and I think if you had someone like Laura at your side you'd be near unstoppable and if need be you'd be able to stop her if she were sent into a berserker mode. I'm glad you're on the side of angels. I know what happened with Karima. You honored her request for peace."

No one had mentioned his killing of Karima since he'd left Utopia. "Thank you, Ms. Summers."

"We're not in the classroom, Julian. You can call me Rachel. And I want to see you later for an evaluation of your telekinesis. Mr. Drake will pick you up from your room around three. Practice well with your friends."

"Thanks, Rachel," Julian answered with a grin. He knew the evaluation was to assess his ability to perform in violent situations. He'd already passed the psyche evaluation - that was how Rachel knew about the Karima incident.

Logan was against the students participating in the school's defense, but he was no longer a child. He was one of the oldest students at nineteen years old. And since Kitty Pride left the school with the time traveling original X-men and Logan was busy with the Avengers the title of Head Master fell to Ororo Monroe. Ms. Monroe was more open-minded to letting adults old enough to join the U.S. Military join in the X-men roster.

With a bounce of excitement in his step that he was quick to mask, Hellion joined his friends to go a round in the Danger Room and burn off some excess energy. His whole body was glowing in green in anticipation.

* * *

A/N: So, what did you guys think? I've got some pretty big plans for this story so stay tuned! Next chapter is Rogue and Gambit's POV.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Sinister Solution**

**Chapter Two:**

* * *

_**Rogue**_

"Anna?"

Someone was shaking her shoulder rather forcefully. Rogue jerked herself out of their grasp.

"Anna, open your eyes," he demanded. He sounded familiar. But his voice didn't make sense. He died. She saw him die in her arms as his heart was penetrated by an enemy. They'd saved Hope in the process that day, but at the cost of the moral compass of the X-men. Perhaps there would have been no schism had he survived.

"Kurt?" She opened her eyes and without a doubt her foster brother the blue fuzzy elf was sitting beside her on the ground with his demonic tail flicking back and forth nervously. Rogue wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. "Gawd, Kurt! I've missed you!"

"Try not to speak His name in vane. What happened, Anna? Why are you here?" Kurt asked, pulling back far enough so that their eyes met — his were golden and bright unlike the last time she saw them when they darkened as his life left his body. He looked so strong and alive!

"We were facing against Archangel's twins from the time he was Apocalypse. They traveled through time and Scarlet Witch betrayed us, ready to forcefully remove all mutants from earth. I borrowed Logan's powers and I think I killed her. But then I remember an intense fire coursing through my body." Rogue rubbed at the headache developing between her eyes. This wasn't a dream. If she was with Kurt it could only mean one thing. "Did I die?"

"Seeing as you're in Heaven with me, I believe that means that you didn't survive," Nightcrawler answered. He held out his three-fingered hands and helped Rogue to her feet. His grip was strong and steady.

She looked around, still holding one of Kurt's hands. The ground at their feet appeared as if they were standing amongst the clouds. There was a huge forest behind them reaching high into the sky and a view down to the earth in front of them. "Are we in Heaven or on the outskirts?"

"I've not actually ventured inside the forest. I have only lingered near the edge. You can see everything going on below." There was a clear view of the X-Mansion below them. "You see wherever you most want to see."

"I killed the Scarlet Witch. How could I be here?" She should have been in a much less pleasant location for the ever after. Did Erik know? His former girlfriend murdered his daughter. If Magneto wasn't already a border-line villain this news would certainly send him over the edge.

"You did kill Wanda, but you were under the influence of Wolverine's berserker mind."

Rogue gripped tightly Nightcrawler's hand and started to pull him toward the forest. "Come my brother, let's see what's beyond those trees then."

Kurt lingered at the edge of Heaven. "If we do that I'm not sure we'll be able to return."

"Kurt, sugah, when you die you don't come back."

"Nein. That's not true. I could name at least a half dozen of our friends and acquaintances that have died over the years and then pop up very much alive a short time later."

"It ain't natural, Kurt. If we gone we need to move on."

"Did you ever tell Gambit how you felt, Rogue?"

Waves of guilt washed over Rogue. Years ago Gambit had been knocking on the gates of heaven, but she'd selfishly kept him from entering. She told him that she couldn't live without him. What would he do once he learned that she'd left him? "Did you ever tell Kitty?" she countered. Nightcrawler looking longingly back toward the earth. That had been unfair of her. Here she was in Heaven reunited with her beloved foster brother and she was bringing up sad thoughts. "Remy knew how I felt, but he was giving me time. I tried to have him join the Avengers with me, but he wasn't interested. Guess I'm glad he didn't join now. He might have kicked the bucket alongside me."

"Or he might have found an impossible way to save your life," Kurt argued. He looked toward the trees. "Maybe we can have a closer look."

* * *

_**Gambit**_

What kind of hotel didn't offer room service? Apparently their hotel. It did have a nice assortment of complimentary toiletries though and when he asked for extra body wash they'd been happy to comply.

The girl was a wreck. She was in the bathroom taking a shower and she'd been in there for the past hour. That was fine. Remy had splurged and rented them a suite with two bathrooms so he'd been able to scour off the stench of the sewer from earlier. Laura had a bit more penetrating of the scent into her pores and with her sensitive nose there might not be enough green tea body wash to clear that up.

Gambit had run a few errands - acquired them food and drinks, gassed up the bike, and bought some clothes that didn't reek for him and Laura. He'd gone out to the Chinese restaurant across the street and brought back a couple of bags of take-out. He set them in the kitchenette area. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out the six pack of beers and a couple of waters he'd picked up from the gas station and set them on the counter.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Ororo's number to let her know of his progress.

"Hey, Stormy," he greeted. "I found Laura. We're at a hotel tonight and we should reach Salem Center by early afternoon tomorrow."

"How is she?" Ororo asked.

"Obviously, she's seen some better days, but if anything Laura is resilient. I want to give her tonight to get herself sorted. I found her half-dead crawling in the sewer system. I don't want her to suffer from sensory overload."

The shower water turned off.

"Make sure you feed her," Ororo advised.

"I'm not an idiot. I know how to feed a teenager," Gambit said scowling. It wasn't like he was babysitting a toddler. He'd have really been in trouble then. "We'll be back tomorrow. Any word from Wolverine or Rogue?"

"They haven't returned from their Avenger mission. Don't worry, as soon as she checks in I'll be sure to tell her you've come back home. I don't know why you can't tell her yourself, Remy."

"I want to surprise her," Gambit said. The door to the bathroom opened and Laura stepped out amongst a cloud of steam bundled up in a terry cloth robe. "We're going to eat. I'll message you before we hit the highway tomorrow." He hung up his phone and turned to X-23. "I've some Chinese food for you," he said gesturing toward the bags on the table. "Dig in. I grabbed you some clothes that don't smell of sewage. They are sitting in the shopping bag on the couch."

"What happened to the clothes you found me in?" Laura asked opening the take-out bag.

"I took the liberty of burning your other stuff," Gambit explained holding up his fingers and allowing them to glow bright pink with his kinetic energy.

"Did you acquire the correct size clothes and shoes?"

"I did not purchase petite if that's what you're asking. I looked at the sizes of your clothes before I torched them." Did she think he wouldn't have bothered to see what size her old clothes were before he destroyed them? "Oh ye of little faith."

"You are part of the school?" Laura asked. She pulled out a chair at the kitchenette table and with a pair of chopsticks started to dig into the food.

"Not teaching yet, but they accepted me with open arms. Stormy joked that she'd have me teaching a course on explosives."

"There is such a class?" Laura asked, genuine curiosity lighting up her bright blue eyes.

Gambit laughed. "I think she was joking. Maybe I'll teach Literature." He grabbed a pair of beer bottles and popped the tops off them.

"Your diction is generally terrible. You would make a poor Literature teacher," Laura argued.

"Oh really?" Gambit said moving to the table and pulling out the chair opposite of her. He offered her one of the beers.

"I am under the legal age. I must refuse."

"Are you sure?"

Laura narrowed her eyes. "And they'll allow you to be a teacher?"

With a sigh Gambit set both beers down on the table, grabbed the pair of waters from near the refrigerator and brought them back. "And what would you suggest I teach?"

"Statistics." Laura accepted the water without complaint and guzzled half of the bottle.

"Statistics? As in math?"

"Statistics as in probability. You are known for your gambles. You take odds and turn them into your favor. Though a course on explosives would also be good. Perhaps physics. You could explain kinetic and potential energy with excellent visualizations."

"Do you want to talk about what happened to you? You've been missing for a year," Gambit said gently. He was no counselor, but he was her friend.

"Will Rachel probe my mind to see if I am stable enough to be around the others in the mutant population?"

"Probably." Gambit didn't know for sure, but it's what Professor Xavier would have done. If Wolverine and Storm were smart, which they were, they'd continue the practice. "I'm asking as your friend, Laura."

She set aside her bottle of water and dropped her chopsticks into her dish. She placed her hands flat on the table. "Would you say my hands are clean?"

"You did just spend over an hour in the shower scrubbing down. I'd wager they are relatively clean." He wished Rogue was there. She could have taken Laura's hands in her own and known exactly what happened and empathized better than he could, though one of Gambit's powers did help him be more empathetic to his would-be marks.

"They don't look clean to me," Laura said sadly staring down at her hands. "I scrubbed them so many times. I even peeled off the skin so that it would grow fresh, but I still see them drenched in blood."

Gambit instinctively reached out and put one of his hands over hers. Laura flinched at the touch, but she didn't pull her hands away or slice him with her claws. Those were all good signs.

She looked up into his eyes. There were tears streaming from her eyes. "We were forced to face one another in a Battle Royale." Gambit rose from his seat and moved to Laura's side and held her against him. He rubbed her back soothingly. He'd seen a Japanese movie once called _Battle Royale _where the students at a school were forced to kill one another. "He released my trigger scent. I went on a berserker rampage right in front of my closest friend. There were only six of us left when we finally managed to escape. How could no one have missed us for a year?"

"I'm so sorry, Laura," Gambit said. He drew back and lifted her chin up by hooking his finger under it. "This might not make you feel better, but in an alternate universe I accidentally blew up the earth with my powers."

"You what? How? I did not realize you were so powerful," Laura said reaching up and brushing away his hand. She returned to her chair and started to eat again.

"If Sinister hadn't altered my brain to give me the ability to control my powers there is little doubt that I'd have become that destructive. In that universe I killed the entire planet." This was something he hadn't even told Rogue. She never did learn the identity of his enemy from years ago that referred to himself as New Son.

"Do you think this Sinister might be able to eradicate my trigger scent?"

"Hard to say, petite. Sinister has his own agenda and ain't nothing he does out of the goodness of his heart. His is appropriately named." The cost of Gambit's little brain operation had led to the marauder massacre.

"I see," Laura said staring down at her half-empty food crate. "Is Julian at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning?" she asked quietly.

So she did still have a soft spot for Hellion. Gambit sat back across from her at the table and took a generous drink from his beer. "Why indeed, young Hellion has been nothing but the model student since the school opened its doors. Many were surprised that he chose to join Wolverine's school over Cyclop's army. Someone must have influenced him."

Laura smiled so slightly that if you hadn't been looking for it you'd have missed it completely. She said nothing.

"Hurry up and eat, petite. I want you in your bed within the hour. We head out at first light tomorrow." He reached for the remote controller on the back of the nearby couch, leapt over the back of the couch and plopped himself on the cushions while he flipped on the television. There was a basketball game being aired. "I'm going to watch the game."

"Gambit?"

He looked over at his companion. "You have my attention," he said propping his feet upon the top of the coffee table.

"Thank you for finding me and for this," she said gesturing around the hotel room and the food. "It is nice to not be alone."

"Laura, you're never alone when you're one of the X-men. It might take us some time to find you,but eventually we'll bring you home." There was no need to tell her about his personal experience of being abandoned and left to wander the wilds of Antarctica by himself. "Don't forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed."

He could hear her gathering up the trash from the food, crinkling the paper bags, and tossing them into the wastebasket. "I am not a child," she said quietly.

Gambit smiled. At least she was still a petulant teenager— all hope was not lost.

* * *

_A/N: I won't be writing all the German, Cajun, Mississippi slang words throughout this story. I will occasionally throw in such words, but I'll keep it to a minimum to make this story easier to read for people who English isn't their first language. Anyone else reading Amazing X-men with Nightcrawler and the pirates? Next chapter, back to X-23 and Hellion. Don't forget to leave a review — feedback really helps!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thanks so much for the lovely reviews! I'm glad y'all are enjoying the story. I'm having a great time researching and deciding what in the cannon universe to use and what to throw out. Someone asked a good question. Does Laura have blue eyes or green eyes? She has blue eyes, because Wolverine has blue eyes and she's his clone. However, some artists have improperly drawn her with green eyes on the front covers of some of the comics I've seen her in and the marvel wiki now says she has green eyes instead of blue in error. Interestingly enough, Wolverine was originally 5'3" but with Hugh Jackman being so tall he's gotten taller in the comic-verse too, however, the marvel wiki still has him labeled as 5'3" and yet it has Laura at 5'7". And sometimes Rachel's last name is Summers and sometimes Grey, I prefer Summers. Minor details…on with the story! BDN_

* * *

**The Sinister Solution**

**Chapter Three:**

* * *

**Hellion**

Julian's favorite teacher was by far Ororo Monroe, codename Storm. Her classes were practical if nothing else. And then one day she just shaved off her long model's white hair and started sporting a mohawk. Perhaps it was a midlife crisis with her recent and very public divorce with the Black Panther. He made her choose between him and humanity and mutants. She chose her people. The best thing about Storm was that she didn't just talk the talk, but she walked the walk. So many of the older X-men were complete hypocrites. They'd judge him for his decisions, but their sordid murderous pasts and present weren't on the table for discussion.

They treated him like a spoiled, loud-mouthed teenager. Technically, he was a teenager, but for only a couple of more months.

Storm was scribbling on the chalkboard so Julian opened his text book Days of Future Past and started skimming through the section about Bishop and his time traveling ways. If he could travel back in time he'd have gone back to the Golden Gate Bridge and not engaged that nimrod. Or, he'd have made Laura actually talk with him and explain herself instead of watching her like a creeper when she last visited the school to play a game of pickup basketball with that vampire Jubilee, Professor Drake, and that redneck cajun jerk. They had just fought off a psychotic intergalactic kleptomaniac, hijacked a dragon, and he'd protected her and those Fantastic Four brats from exploding in outer space with his powers.

And then she walked away from him like he meant nothing to her. At least they finally had a much anticipated kiss. He wanted more. Much more.

He was thrilled to know that she would be at the school soon, but his excitement was somewhat dulled knowing that her traveling companion was Gambit. He and the devil-eyed cajun didn't get along.

'"_If you're going to daydream about your crazy girlfriend anyway you should see this," _Quentin said telepathically. The sound of the student body president's voice shouldn't have caught Hellion off guard, but he found himself shifting slightly in his chair. Evan Sabahnur, codename Genesis, the classmate in the desk to his right glanced over at him with concern stretched across his pale features so Julian forced a smile to let him know he was fine. He forced himself to look straight ahead at Storm instead of turning around to ask the telepath in the desk behind him to explain himself aloud.

"And the final part of your sessions this week with my class before you're dismissed for a holiday break will be live one-on-one combat drills with me," Ororo said. She set her chalk on the tray in front of the black board and then started her lecture about the problems with time travel.

"I volunteer to be your first combat drill!" Kubark, Kid Gladiator, said as he raised his hand enthusiastically into the air. The alien felt that since Storm now had a mohawk that she was obviously imitating his red mohawk. He'd even brought her a pair of red-lenses glasses to make her imitation of him complete. Storm had been unamused.

"Your time will come, Kubark," Storm assured him.

"_I was checking YouTube on my phone when I came across a video you really have to see. It was just taken off the internet, but I memorized it. You're welcome. So I'll project it into your head. It involves your girlfriend, so try not to react," _Quentin advised.

The images popped into Julian's head. It looked like a reality gameshow at first. Just a group of teenagers wandering about an island shouting at each other in frustration. It wasn't until the images cut to a scene in the woods that Julian paid close attention. It was Laura and she was walking alongside a girl in a yellow hazmat suit. They'd come across a large red skeletal figure and then the air was saturated in a dense yellow mist. And then Hellion watched in his mind's eye as Laura became the mindless killing machine X-23 that she feared.

Her eyes glowed red with bloodlust as she sliced into her friend. The other girl's suit was torn and radiation began to leak out. Julian's chest grew tight as he watched the woman he loved melt before his eyes as she suffered intense doses or radiation poisoning, but she didn't die — not with her healing factor. The scene cut and then he saw her facing off against a huge green monster that made the dragon they faced together while watching the Richards' kids from the Fantastic Four seem like a friendly bunny.

"Hellion. Your combat drill begins now," Storm said as she sent a miniature tornado toward him and threw him out of his chair and outside the open window at his side. The images Quentin had played inside his head were gone. Julian reacted quickly to his teacher's assault and floated in the air using his telekinesis.

After witnessing just some of what Laura had gone through recently without him being there to help her, he had a great deal of pent up aggression. He wanted to know who had dared film that horror and then posted it online. He would die. Painfully. An all-out combat session against Storm would be the perfect avenue to vent some frustration. "I'm looking forward to it, Ms. Monroe," Julian said glad that they were outside and he didn't have to worry about collateral damage.

"Ms. Summers thinks you'll be a good candidate for the active roster of X-men," Storm said shooting a bolt of lightning towards him.

Hellion evaded the attack and used his mental agility to encase Storm into a cocoon of green energy. The key to defeating Storm was to keep her out of access to the weather where she couldn't manipulate it. If he'd been facing someone like Wolverine he'd have been happy to lay into him violently. He liked Storm. He didn't want the fight to be any harder than it had to be. "I came to this school so I could train and be a responsible adult," Hellion agreed. Maybe if X-23 hadn't joined X-Force, or maybe if he'd been on the team alongside her he could have protected her. He couldn't think of anyone he wanted at his back more than Laura. He wanted her to feel the same way about him. If her reaction to Lady Deathstrike's attack on him was any indication she just had to feel about him the way he felt about her.

"You really shouldn't make everything you do be about Laura," Rachel Summers chided as she joined the two of them in the air. Marvel Girl glowed red as she hovered at his side with her long yellow coat billowing in the wind.

"You shouldn't be reading people's minds without their permission," Julian growled.

"Storm, looks like he did a good job of incapacitating you fairly quickly too. What do you think?" Rachel asked ignoring his comment. "Not even any collateral damage."

"I think a young man with a strong imagination to end conflict with the least amount of damage or casualties and a big heart to try and do the right thing even when its not the easy thing would make a fine addition to our roster," Storm said. Ororo knew about his actions back on Utopia resulting in the requested death of Karima — a request he was happy to grant. Unlike Cyclops, Emma Frost, and Rogue and well, practically anyone else, she didn't judge him severely for it. She was just sad that he was put in that position. And she wasn't a big fan of Hope Summers. That made Storm one of his favorite people right there.

"_I'm sorry for eavesdropping into your thoughts about Laura. You need to tell me about this video Quire showed you after this. You need to know, Storm is extremely claustrophobic," _Rachel spoke into Julian's mind.

Julian released his telekinetic cage from around Storm. The weather goddess graced him with a bright smile. "Pass, Mr. Keller, in reference to my class and in your evaluation. We've been monitoring your Danger Room sessions."

"Why don't you return to your lecture, Storm? I need to talk with Hellion," Rachel said. The weather witch nodded and then entered the classroom through the open window to seek out her next would-be victim for combat drills.

"Who would put such a thing on YouTube?" Hellion asked, his metallic hands were drawn into angry fists at his sides.

Rachel started to drift closer to the ground and Julian followed her to the grassy hill. She sat with her hands laced across her knees. Julian sat next to her and mimicked the position. "Black Widow contacted me earlier today with a full report. The Avengers Academy students had been abducted for almost a year and forced to engage in a game called Murder World by a man named Arcade."

"A year? How is that possible?" Julian asked. How could no one notice an entire school was missing?

"Decoys. And most of the students didn't talk to anyone outside of the school. You were Laura's closest friend. Did she contact you while she was there?" Rachel asked.

Julian scowled. It was a rhetorical question from the telepath. Of course, Laura hadn't contacted him. It had been a year since he'd heard anything about her. "Do you think she'll be okay? I mean, I know she's been through a lot of crap her entire life and this is supposed to be a safe-haven…" he trailed off unsure of exactly what he was saying.

Rachel reached out and squeezed his knee before standing and stretching her arms above her head. "You know her better than most, Julian. I'll offer her telepathic therapy if she's interested, but more than anything she'll need a friend. Natasha said that Laura didn't actually kill anyone. However, the trigger scent was released around her and she gravely injured her best friend at that academy."

"The girl who leaks radiation?" Julian ventured a guess thinking about the video Quire had shown him.

"I believe so," Rachel said frowning. "Logan was on the Avengers team that brought those kids out of Murder World, but he was almost immediately reassigned on another mission. Sometime between when he put her on the plane and when it landed she was no longer onboard. It was by chance I saw her on cerebro. If she hadn't been in so much pain I might not have noticed her. Logan's going to be pissed when he finds out." She shook her head. "You're on the active roster now, Hellion. I'm sure Laura will be once she recovers, she always is. I'm assigning you to her. It needs to be one of us. With our telekinetic powers we can keep her safe from harming herself or others should she ever be exposed to trigger scent. And of the two of us, it is you that she trusts."

"I would be honored to be Laura's teammate again," Julian answered. Did those other students throw her out of the plane? Just because she had a healing factor that didn't mean she didn't feel pain. Someone was going to pay.

Rachel looked down at her watch and frowned. "You better return to your classes. I believe you have Professor Drake and you know how he's been about giving out detentions lately. I'll have a talk with Mr. Quire about those online videos he found."

Ever since Iceman's girlfriend Kitty Pryde had left the institute he'd been in a piss poor mood giving out detentions left and right. A.P. Economics had never been so challenging. "Of course," Julian said. He kept his mind blank, not wanting his thoughts to be over-heard. He made his way back to the school building, but he didn't go to Iceman's class. Instead he flew himself up to the roof where he'd have a good view for whenever Laura showed up. Maybe if she visited his room this time she'd appreciate that it was now impeccably clean and smelled of cinnamon — the scented candle he used to keep the room from being too stale. His room would never again smell like dirty socks and old pizza boxes.

* * *

**OoO**

**X-23**

The first thing on the agenda once they reached The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, New York was a visit to the infirmary. There was no time to explore the campus. It had been over a year since she'd last been there. She wondered if Julian kept his room clean or if it still smelled of old pizza boxes.

Dr. Hank McCoy wasted no time in evaluating her. She felt it was unnecessary, but Gambit had implored her. She felt she owed her friend that small concession. It wasn't like she had anything better to do nor anywhere better to be. Beast clucked over Laura like a worried mother hen. She had to wonder about the sanitation of his shedding blue fur. It didn't matter in her case, but for others that didn't possess her healing factor it might be an issue. However, he was the one responsible for performing emergency surgery on Julian after Lady Deathstrike nearly eviscerated him. He had proven himself capable.

"We really appreciate you cooperating with us, Laura," Rachel said. She had been the one to greet her and Gambit upon their arrival at the school's gates. Part of Laura had been disappointed that she didn't see Julian lingering anywhere. Now that she was back would he start watching her again? Or had he already moved on? He was a handsome man, a very excellent kisser, and when he wasn't full of anger he was rather pleasant. It was unlikely that he was waiting for her to learn how to talk to him. She could feel her muscles tensing.

"You're going to need to relax," Hank McCoy said. "Let me just run a full body CT scan to assess how severe the injuries extend," he said. "You might be interested to know that Logan was on the Avengers crew that found you on that terrible Murder World. He was called into another mission before he could escort you here and somehow you weren't on the plane when it landed. It was lucky that Rachel found you on cerebro." He chewed on the cap of his pen thoughtfully. "An MRI would prove disastrous with all that adamantium in your hands," he said.

"I don't think this is necessary," Laura argued. "I will heal. I was much worse than this a few days ago." At least all her organs were inside of her body now.

"That's exactly why we're doing this. You have a superb healing factor and yet you're still in such a weakened state. I believe you said you were irradiated? I checked your radiation levels when you were first brought here – Gambit's too. You're both at safe levels." Hank turned to Gambit and waved his pen at the Cajun in disapproval. "You are lucky you didn't receive radiation poisoning. You should have checked her levels upon first finding her."

Gambit shrugged. "Mon ami, it wouldn't hurt me even if she were irradiated. I can turn all energy into kinetic energy, non?"

"I forget sometimes that our powers seem to constantly be evolving," Hank said frowning. "In you go, Laura," he said gesturing for the CT scanner. Laura heeded his request and climbed into the machine. She closed her eyes and waited for the uncomfortable sensation to complete.

"I have to make sure you're safe for our general population. You said you spent a great deal of time with your friend Jennifer Takeda also known as Hazmat."

"How did you know?" Laura asked, her muscles were growing tense once more. Did they know? Did they know that she'd killed her best friend at the academy?

"Black Widow contacted us earlier today. Your friend is alive, Laura," Rachel said. "She wanted to make sure you were found. You were supposed to be on the rescue plane with the other Avengers students. What happened?"

Laura forced her body to relax. Hazmat might still be alive, but what about all the others? If Bloodstone hadn't been forced to stop her after she'd been affected by the trigger scent then Nara wouldn't have died. What about Reptil? He was the one that had brought Hazmat out to the ocean so that she wouldn't kill everyone with her radiation. Was he still alive? She had liked him too. He reminded her of Julian, but with a better attitude and less powerful.

"Both of them are alive," Rachel clarified. Obviously she was reading Laura's mind. In this case she didn't care. It was a relief to learn that both Hazmat and Reptil lived. They were good people. They were her friends. She didn't have many friends.

"Okay, we're all done with that," Hank said. "Normally Dr. Rao does this sort of thing, but she is in town today taking care of some personal business."

Laura crawled off the table for the CT scan and stood facing the three adults.

"I take it you don't know how you ended up in the sewers and not in the plane?" Gambit asked.

Laura shook her head. There might have been a faint scent of recognition for Wolverine, but she was so severely irradiated she wasn't lucid enough to know the details. "I regained consciousness in the sewers. My abdomen had been eviscerated and my eyes burned out. I am unsure of all the details. My nervous system was in overload with pain."

"Laura, we would really like it if you stayed at the school here," Rachel said. "Your father would especially feel better knowing that you were here. Your friends will be glad to have you back." Laura narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, it wasn't like she had a great many friends. "Gambit will be a teacher here. Jubilee is here. She has recently adopted a child - a baby boy."

Shortly before Laura had joined the Avengers Academy Logan had officially adopted her. He was now her father in every sense of the word. She thought back on a simpler visit she paid to the premises where she played a game of pickup basketball with Jubilee, Gambit, and Iceman. It had been fun. She smiled faintly at the memory. "How can a vampire adopt a child?"

"It's complicated," Rachel said as she glanced at Hank.

Laura could smell her discomfort. "When do classes start?"

"You'll start the next semester," Gambit answered. "Right now you just need to settle in."

"I will want a list of the available courses for next semester along with the names of the professors. I want to chose which classes I will take," Laura said.

"Sure, I'll take care of that," Gambit said. "Do you have a room for her?" he asked Rachel.

"Yes, and Laura, do you want to be on the X-men roster?" Rachel asked.

She was asking? Wolverine made it clear that part of her mission back on X-Force was to protect the innocent so that they might have the life she couldn't. She'd traveled around the world since then and tried another way by joining the Avengers, but it had brought her back home to the X-men. Back to Wolverine. "If I am needed I will not sit back and let others endanger themselves."

"I'm glad you feel that way. I should warn you, you'll be on a team with Hellion," Rachel said.

"That temperamental brat?" Gambit asked in a raised voice. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Hellion is a valuable member of the X-men and he has proven himself. There are none of us perfect, but that boy has been the model citizen since he started at this school," Rachel said defensively. "And before our last school was destroyed he was one of the best students and a natural leader."

"I just don't know if it's a good idea," Gambit said. He looked over at her, and his red-on-black eyes were darkened with worry — worry for her.

"It's fine," Laura interjected. She directed her attention to Beast. "I am not a health danger to the other students in regard to radiation?"

"No, but I want you to take it easy. Healing factor or not, I want you to rest, Laura," Dr. McCoy said.

"Will you show me to my room?" Laura asked Rachel.

"Of course," Rachel said.

The students lived on the east wing of the newly re-built X-mansion. There were four floors of student rooms with a great open atrium in the center of the rooms like a fancy hotel. Laura's room was on the fourth floor. It would make it harder to sneak out. Outside each room on the wall was a placard with the name or names of the room's occupants. On the third floor they passed up a room belonging to Blindfold and Cipher. The names were familiar.

"The fourth floor is for the older students. The other floors have common bathrooms, but you older students have suite mates whom you share a bathroom with. Cessily is in the room to your right, you will share a bathroom with her," Rachel explained. "Your father had this room reserved for you, just in case you decided to enroll."

Laura's nose already detected who the neighbor to her left would be without having the see the name placard. Part of her wanted to avoid Julian, but the bigger part of her wanted to see him very badly. She missed him.

"I have my own room?" Laura asked. She wasn't terribly surprised that Logan had reserved a room for her. Her progenitor was a rather emotionally driven man — it must have been his Y chromosome.

"Since we are only at twenty-five percent capacity for our student population we have quite a few empty rooms. The younger students have roommates so they keep each other from being lonely while they learn to live without their parents and siblings, but we were able to let some of you older ladies and gentlemen to have a little more privacy. You still have to share a bathroom, but that's not so bad, is it?" Rachel asked.

"No," Laura agreed. She'd have to be careful not to pick up her old habit of cutting herself. Cessily would surely not approve. "Is Sooraya here?"

"After the schism she originally enrolled in the school, but she never attended. She's with Cyclops' team," Rachel said. "There's food in the cafeteria if you're hungry."

"I don't have any other clothes," Laura said. "I would like to travel into town to purchase some items."

"Of course," Rachel said. "Just don't go by yourself and be back before dark. You'll find a couple of school uniforms in your closet. The school has a dress code."

After Rachel left, Laura gave herself a tour of her new room. There was a twin-sized bed against the far corner of the room, a desk against the opposite wall, a small bookcase stood next to the bed with an alarm-clock on top. There was an utilitarian dresser on the wall next to the door.

She opened the first drawer of the dresser and was surprised to see that there was a pair of pajamas inside. She pulled them out to inspect them further. They were flannel pajamas with the Canadian red maple leaf imprinted all over them. There was a note on top from her adopted father welcoming her to the school. He must have left this months ago. Did he have such confidence that she'd come?

Laura put the pajamas back and closed the dresser. She made her way to the bed that was on the wall next to Hellion's room and laid down on the soft down comforter. It was green — her favorite color. Was it also picked out special for her or was it just a coincidence? Perhaps the entire school's bedspreads were standard issued green. For a moment Laura relaxed and stared up at her ceiling.

She sat up abruptly, her heart pounding as she could smell his approach. Maybe he was just going to his room since he was next door or maybe he was coming to her. She could feel him hovering just outside her door. She stood with her arms at her sides unsure of what to do. Then, she could hear him turn and go inside his room next door without having knocked.

Laura left her room and went to Julian's room next door and knocked upon his door. He opened the door, his metal hands gripped the door knob and the doorframe. His dark hair had grown long, his blue eyes were wide in surprise at seeing her, and he was still very handsome. He wore a black blazer, white shirt, black tie, black slacks, and black shoes — the school uniform perhaps? Either that or he'd just returned from a funeral. She could hear his heartbeat accelerate and could smell the slight change in his pheromones. He was still attracted to her at least.

"Why did you not knock?" Laura asked.

"Um, I didn't want to bother you. Would you like to come in?" Julian asked stepping back into the room and holding the door open for her.

Laura stepped inside and moved near his bed. His bedspread was blue. Apparently the green bedspread was not the standard issue. There was a picture on the bookcase near his bed. It was a group shot of the New X-men from a year and a half ago, before her time with the X-Force. She was standing next to Hellion in the picture. "I could smell you standing outside of my door."

Julian cleared his throat. "Well, I'm sorry I bothered you then."

"I missed you," Laura said walking back toward him. She really wanted to hug him. Logan said she should explore doing things that she wanted. Her friend Hazmat had told her that she needed to relax and just go with her feelings — it wasn't like she was radioactive or anything. She wrapped her arms around Julian's torso and buried her face against his collarbone, his heart beat a comforting yet fast tattoo against her ear. She could feel him slowly wrap his metallic arms around her.

"I missed you, too," Julian answered.

Her eyes were leaking. It made no sense. Julian's room was relatively clean. There shouldn't have been dust floating about or noxious fumes to irritate her eyes. She pulled back slightly feeling confused. She glanced around hoping to see what the offensive object must be that was causing her eyes to tear up.

"It's okay to cry, Laura," Julian said softly.

"I don't cry," Laura said. She could think of three occasions where she cried and they all involved the deaths of someone she loved. No one died just now. There was no reason for her to cry. There must have been an irritant in the air.

"Sometimes, we cry when we're relieved and finally feel safe after a terrible ordeal," Julian said. He took hold of her hand and pulled her with him toward his bed and sat next to her. "You don't have to tell me what happened, but if you need to tell someone that won't judge you. You can tell me."

She touched Julian's cheek. "You have changed," she decided. She didn't just mean that he had lost his baby-fat and that his face was more angular. He had also grown approximately 2.54 centimeters in the past year.

"We're mutants. We have to grow up fast," Julian said. He reached up and cupped the back of her hand in his metal one trapping it against his face.

"I need to purchase clothing," Laura said.

Julian sighed and moved his hand away from her. "All right. Let's go into town. You want to walk or you want to ride?"

Before Laura could answer she could smell Santo in the room next to Hellion's. Was Rockslide his suite mate? The question was answered when Santo burst into the room through the bathroom. "Julian! X-23 is back!" he shouted, his face fell comedically upon spying Laura and Julian on the bed. "And I guess you already know that. Hi, Laura," he said scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"We were just planning to go into town to purchase clothing. Would you care to join us?" Laura asked. It would be good to spend time with her old friends.

Santo and Julian exchanged looks, the latter of which shrugged. "Okay," Rockslide agreed.

"And Cessily. I would like to invite her. I was told that Sooraya isn't a student here. That is unfortunate. I like her," Laura said.

"We like her too," Julian said. "The good news is Noriko isn't here, so it's a lot more peaceful."

Laura was glad to hear that Surge wasn't there. She didn't need the antagonistic young woman. "Has Elixir returned?"

"No, we haven't seen him since the battle with Kevin," Julian said quietly. He stood and offered his hand to Laura.

"I do not need assistance in standing," Laura said staring at his hand in confusion.

"I know you don't. I'm just being polite by offering. You should be polite by accepting," Julian explained patiently.

Perhaps he was trying to show her how capable he was of using his artificial hand. She took his hand and rose to her feet.

"There's a lot of students here you aren't familiar with," Santo said. "Kid Gladiator is probably the one you should most be aware of. He likes to prove himself and if he knows that Wolverine's daughter is on campus he's going to put you high on his list of rivals. He'll attack randomly in the hall, but then the Danger Room also will randomly find you about campus. The cafeteria and the dormitories are the only safe zones."

"This is useful information," Laura said filing away everything Rockslide said for future reference. It was then that she realized she was still holding Julian's hand. She let it go immediately and started for the door. "I will see if I can find Cessily."

She paused at the door. "What about the teachers? Is Angel one of the professors? I haven't seen him in some time."

Julian and Santo exchanged looks. "Angel is here, but he's not a professor," Julian said. "He suffered amnesia. He's one of the students."

"Warren is a student? But he's a man grown," Laura said. It made no sense. Even if he lost his memory why was an adult a student? "I will want to speak with him."

"That might be a problem. He's been missing from classes all week and he's not in his dorm room either," Julian said.

"I will find Cessily. Be ready in a few minutes," Laura said. She would walk through the halls later and memorize the students and which rooms they lived. It was always best to know your environment and your neighbors. She had a lot to do before starting her courses.

* * *

_A/N: It's a bit of a long chapter, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I re-read all the X-force and X-23 and New Xmen comics over the holidays so I'm pretty sure I got both Laura and Julian's characters pretty good. Anyone else reading the All New Xmen comics with the original five Xmen and X23? They really have Laura out of character with her lines and her neediness. So...next chapter we get more Gambit, Rogue, and Nightcrawler! _


End file.
